Exchange houses across Doha are witnessing a large number of customers – both local and expatriate - ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holidays, local Arabic daily Arrayah has reported.
Long queues of customers waiting to process their transactions could be seen at different exchange houses, with some of these centres having to extend their working hours due to the rush.
The services that are witnessing a high demand include money transfers and currency exchanges.
In addition to the requirements for the Eid holidays, many locals are preparing to travel abroad in the days ahead. Besides, it has been learnt that many companies have paid the salaries of their employees earlier than usual to help them transfer money to their families in home countries or meet other expenses, according to the report.
Officials at a number of exchange houses stressed that the demand for services is high but normal for this time of the year as many people want to send money to their families as early as possible to prepare for the Eid celebrations.
“Eid al-Fitr is a key season for exchange centres. This time, in particular, the turnout is higher due to the festivities coinciding with the summer vacation and school holidays. Besides, salaries have mostly been paid earlier this month,” said Bashar al-Waqfi, general manager, Alfardan Exchange.
There is an estimated 30% increase in the transfer amount by expatriates as compared to other months, he observed. Asian countries such as India, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Nepal were among the top recipients of such transfers. As for Arab countries, transfers to Egypt were the highest followed by Jordan, Tunisia and Morocco.
